Mid-Year Fellowship Retreat Why a Fellowship Retreat? One of AlumniCorps' core objectives is to develop civic leaders by providing effective professional development opportunities for our Fellows. We design retreat workshops using a curriculum built on proven concepts derived from our Emerging Leaders program. In addition, our Fellows have consistently asked for more opportunities to connect with their cohort, and with AlumniCorps. While each year the entire cohort convenes for orientation before they start their Fellowships, they have never had the opportunity to share their learnings with each other across geographies and compare common experiences, until now. Strengthening these connections is a vital part of harnessing the power of relationships to effect social change.
The Retreat reunited current Fellows with their counterparts from across the country for the first time since their Orientation.
Fellows had the chance to connect with each other in between professional development workshops.
Current Project 55 Fellows at the Mid-Year Fellowship Retreat.
From April 5 to 7, 2019, 50 current Fellows from around the country, as far away as Chicago and San Francisco, traveled back to Princeton, NJ to participate in small group workshops, discussions, individual discovery, professional development, and relationship building. Topics included public speaking and storytelling; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); design thinking; avoiding burnout/self-care; career planning and job searches; and navigating relationships at work/communication. As a result of the Retreat, 87% of our Fellows reported that their connection to their cohort was strengthened, and 83% of the Fellows report that their connection to AlumniCorps has strengthened. Our Fellows report feeling more confident in their public speaking, how they present themselves, and career building. They plan to use key learnings from our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion session to advocate for themselves in the workplace. They are inspired to explore and develop new professional skill sets. 7
